


Mixed Messages

by HiddenOne



Category: Glee
Genre: D/s, M/M, Miscommunication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-04
Updated: 2014-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-21 20:31:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1563083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenOne/pseuds/HiddenOne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cooper is a Dom in need of a scene. Sebastian is a willing sub. But neither know about the other, and so nothing is easy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mixed Messages

**Author's Note:**

> Everlasting gratitude to my wonderful beta, arduenna <3

“Hey,” Sebastian greets when Blaine opens the door.

“Hi,” Blaine responds, short and forced. He’s frowning, and Sebastian raises his eyebrows.

“What’s up with you?” Sebastian asks as he steps inside.

Blaine huffs in annoyance. “It’s Cooper. He’s being a jerk,” he grumbles.

“What happened?”

Sebastian manages to temper his amusement so it comes out of his mouth as a serious question. He analyzes Blaine’s slumped posture, crossed arms, and frown-that-is-almost-a-pout as he kicks off his shoes and hangs up his coat. It isn’t that Sebastian doesn’t believe that Blaine thinks what he’s saying is true - but it’s hard for Sebastian not to acknowledge that Blaine is fond of over-dramatics.

“Nothing,” Blaine mutters.

Sebastian holds back a sigh. “Right,” he replies, rolling his eyes.

Blaine doesn’t see him, too busy glaring farther into the house. “It’s just -” he starts, unprompted, “he’s just so - he always assumes he’s right, and therefore I have to follow absolutely everything that comes out of his mouth and it’s so _frustrating_ I just want to - ugh, I don’t know,” Blaine finishes his rant, tossing his hands in the air.

“Siblings suck,” Sebastian tries to empathize.

“You have no idea,” Blaine grumbles again. But he’s right - Sebastian has no idea what siblings are like, and these moments of insight into Blaine’s life don’t make him wish for any, either. “Come on, we can head up to my room and avoid him.”

Sebastian makes a hum of agreement, but his interest is piqued about Cooper. Sebastian has never seen him not put together and painfully handsome - even when he walks around the house barefoot in low-riding sweatpants and a thin wife-beater. What does Cooper in an awful mood look like?

But Sebastian follows Blaine down the hallway anyway, peeking into the side rooms for a glimpse of Cooper. He pauses at the entrance to the kitchen - Cooper stands at the sink, back to Sebastian. Maybe it’s Sebastian’s imagination and that Blaine told him that Cooper is in a mood, but Sebastian thinks he can see that Cooper is off - that his muscles are tense, that his stance is rigid, that his movements are sharp.

And Sebastian's curiosity won’t let him pass up the opportunity.

“I need some water,” Sebastian says, gesturing to the kitchen when Blaine looks back at him. At Blaine’s frown, he continues, “Don’t worry, he’s not going to make me cry. Go on ahead, I’ll join you in a few.”

Sebastian doesn’t wait for Blaine’s response and steps into the kitchen. He saunters over to the cupboard for a glass, taking him right next to Cooper. He becomes aware of his heart beating - not faster, but it feels more forceful. Sebastian risks a glance behind him and breathes a small sigh of relief when he doesn’t see Blaine. The moments he gets alone with Cooper are rare.

Sebastian pulls out a glass and sneaks a look at Cooper who doesn’t acknowledge his presence, glaring at the dishes with his face pinched. Sebastian goes over to the fridge, getting ice cubes out of the fridge door and then filling his glass with water. The entire time, Cooper doesn’t even glance at him - though his shoulders tense even more.

Sebastian mentally prepares himself and then hops up onto the counter next to the sink, which lets him stare at Cooper's face as he sips on his glass of water. Cooper rewards him with a glance, and Sebastian meets his gaze before Cooper goes back to glaring at the dishes, now with his shoulders slightly turned away from Sebastian.

“Blaine says you’re being an ass,” Sebastian comments after several moments of nothing but the clunk of a pot against the sink as Cooper washes it.

Cooper snorts and keeps scrubbing.

Sebastian lets the silence rest for a few more moments before offering up another comment. “You’ve been washing that same pot this whole time.”

Cooper pauses, but then he keeps scrubbing. “Is there something you want?” he asks, voice flat and dismissive.

Sebastian frowns - his interactions with Cooper have always been pleasant, filled with banter that makes Blaine blush. Cooper may patronize Blaine but not Sebastian - or at least when he tries, Sebastian calls bullshit and they end up trading mocking comments and afterwards Cooper rewards Sebastian with an appreciative glance and a genuine smile.

Cooper dismissing him hurts.

“Whoa, you need to get laid,” Sebastian says, looking at the far wall instead of Cooper’s face. It’s a line he’s teased Cooper with before, getting a smile and a question of 'do you have any recommendations?' But this time Sebastian snaps the words out, an insult rather than joke.

Cooper stills, and Sebastian freezes next to him, his glass clutched in his hand. Several tense moments pass and Sebastian feels his breathing quicken. Pushing Cooper never felt so dangerous - and he doesn’t know whether to be afraid of Cooper finally snapping, or to see if he has the power to make Cooper snap.

Cooper goes back to scrubbing that same pot. “Unless you’re offering, you should go console Blaine since apparently I’ve hurt his feelings,” Cooper says, not very nicely. The pot clangs against the side of the sink as Cooper turns it.

Sebastian stares at Cooper, he can’t help it. He’s never seen Cooper like this - clearly unhappy, filter almost gone, and getting more and more tense. Sebastian lets another uncomfortable silence settle between them as he searches for the right words - though whether the right thing is to let Cooper snap or to attempt to soothe...or even leave him alone, Sebastian doesn’t know.

“I’m offering,” Sebastian decides to say, voice neutral.

Sebastian watches Cooper jerk as if Sebastian had punched him. Cooper grips the counter tight, his knuckles turning white even as soap and water drips to the floor. He doesn’t look at Sebastian, staring at the sink, and Sebastian’s throat goes dry as he realizes that Cooper _wants_ to.

And God, is Sebastian’s offer completely genuine. The thought of sliding down to his knees right now and being able to suck Cooper off -

Cooper scoffs. “Go run and play with Blaine,” he dismisses, going back to washing the dishes.

Sebastian’s face burns, humiliation stealing his breath. He had thought - he had honestly believed - fuck, how could he possibly think that Cooper would want him? The banter, the smiles, the winks - all their previous reactions were just Cooper flirting, like he would with anyone. Sebastian isn’t special, and he’d been stupid to entertain thoughts of anything else.

Sebastian slides off the counter and drains the rest of his glass. He steps up close to Cooper, almost touching, and sets the glass in the sink even with the dishwasher not three feet away.

“Your loss,” Sebastian bites, anger and disappointment coursing through him. He lets his hand trail up Cooper’s arm as he moves back, letting his nails scratch Cooper’s skin on the way.

Cooper twists his arm away from Sebastian and grabs his wrist. Sebastian has an instant to feel regret at his own actions before Cooper yanks, and Sebastian stumbles into the counter. Cooper presses up against his back so firmly that the counter digs painfully into Sebastian's hips.

“Don’t push me,” Cooper growls into Sebastian’s ear, and Sebastian hears the words but doesn’t really understand, not when his mind short-circuits on the feeling of Cooper’s body pressed against his, Cooper’s chest against his back, Cooper’s hands on his hips soaking handprints into the fabric, Cooper’s mouth so close to his neck that Sebastian can feel Cooper’s breath across his skin.

He grips the counter tightly and forgets to breathe. Finally he has gotten Cooper's full attention, and while he's vindictively pleased that he managed it, his confusion stops his movements. Didn't Cooper just dismiss him? But Sebastian's mind assaults him with images anyway. God, if Cooper bent Sebastian over right now and used him - Sebastian would take it. He _could_ take it, proving to Cooper that he's not just some kid. Prove that he can handle Cooper's focus, his intensity, his anger. Sebastian could be the best Cooper's ever had, could be everything Cooper wants - if only Cooper actually wanted him.

 “Don’t...push me,” Cooper repeats, even as he is the one pushing, pushing Sebastian against the counter. Voice strained, he continues, “I’m not - you can’t - fuck, you don’t understand -”

And Sebastian doesn’t understand, he can’t make sense of what is happening. Cooper already rejected him, but now Cooper is pressing bruises into his skin and letting his lips skim Sebastian’s neck. Sebastian forces himself to breathe - he’s afraid to move, afraid to speak, afraid to tip the balance before he can figure out what Cooper is trying to say.

“I need -” Cooper pants, but then breaks himself off. He doesn’t continue, and Sebastian clenches his hands on the counter tighter.

He’s never thought he was stupid, but Sebastian has never felt slower than this moment. He just doesn’t get what Cooper is trying to say, but he can feel the importance of it weighing him down. If he was only smart enough to understand -

“Cooper...” Sebastian gets out, his voice hoarse and quiet.

In an instant, Cooper is gone from behind him and Sebastian catches himself on the counter before he falls down. Cold seeps under his skin in the spots where Cooper had pressed against him.

It feels like an hour before Sebastian is able to turn around to face Cooper - he hides his shaking hands behind his back. Cooper is running his hands through his hair, and Sebastian can see his fingers trembling. He looks up to meet Sebastian’s gaze, and the regret etched into Cooper’s face makes Sebastian feel like he’s been slapped.

He walks away, heart in his throat and the ache of bruises on his hips. He hears rather than sees Cooper move since he doesn’t dare to look at him, and Sebastian keeps a wide enough berth so that he isn’t within reach.

The thought of an explanation, of excuses, of Cooper detailing how he didn’t really mean it - at least not with Sebastian - is something he can’t handle. He doesn’t breathe until he’s out of the kitchen, and he doesn’t relax until he’s closed Blaine’s bedroom door behind him.

“What took you so long? I was going to send a search party,” Blaine jokes.

“Aw, did you miss me?” Sebastian retorts, and he pastes a smirk on his face. His mind splits, half thinking back over the events in the kitchen Cooper and half focusing on putting on an act for Blaine. He's careful to hide the wet handprints still visible on his hips.

Blaine doesn't appear concerned, so Sebastian relaxes into his role. He's distracted for the rest of the night, wondering where Cooper is in the house and what he's doing or thinking - but even when he leaves Blaine's room hours later to go home, he doesn't see Cooper again.

Relief wins over disappointment.


End file.
